Veil Of Maya All Things Set Aside

It's been a while since I've truly been excited over a tech metal release. I have nothing but respect for the talent of tech musicians, but songs boasting fifty different riffs and time signatures attempting to one-up Chris Pennie and friends have been finding less and less time in my listening rotation. Enter Chicago's Veil of Maya. The five-piece throws together a recipe of melodic death, technical metal, and a sprinkling of metalcore to produce an abrasive, yet listenable debut record in All Things Set Aside. It's just enough melodic death to be catchy, but not enough for At The Gates rip-off spotters to have something to yell about. It's just enough tech for the listener to be impressed, but not lost. And finally, it's just enough metalcore to find room for those obligatory breakdowns, but not enough to fall under that frowned upon deathcore label. Veil of Maya must have been listening when their mothers gave them the "everything in moderation" speech, because with this album, they've managed to hit a sweet spot in between three styles that haven't exactly been clicking with me lately. However, All Things Set Aside isn't quite a release of perfection. While I'm impressed with their combinations of genres, I still find Veil of Maya's songwriting to be a bit lacking. Transitions between the genres, though more fluid than those of other attempted genre benders like From A Second Story Window, are still rather abrupt in many cases. As this is the five-piece's debut full-length, I'm sure that this is something they can improve upon in the future. Also, the production on this record is a bit puzzling to me. Although I enjoy most aspects of the raw sound on All Things Set Aside, their decision to have that infamous triggered bass drum clicking sound is baffling. It's as if Adam Dutkiewicz snuck into the studio overnight and the only thing he could get his hands on was the bass drum sound. One can only imagine. It's also probably necessary to comment on the definite hit or miss bonus track on this album. This CD goes one track longer than the listed eight, and does so to include. a rap track. Sure, it's been done before, and the goal is always up for debate (Is it a joke Is it serious Or is it just Terror), but it caught me pleasantly off guard the first time through and I've come to embrace it. As it will will surely rub some fans the wrong way, don't worry, it's the last track. It's not the end of the world if you skip it. Bottom Line: Veil of Maya set out to find an equilibrium between melodic death, tech metal and metalcore and have somehow managed to succeed with All Things Set Aside. There's room for songwriting improvement, but overall, this record isn't too shabby. They're definitely a band I'll keep my eye on in the future.